Everyone knows the story of Captain America. How he was made a super-soldier, America's perfect hero. This is not that story.

Hayley Parker was HYDRA's answer to Captain America, a super assassin that struck in the dead of night, leaving no trace behind. Once upon a time, the name of the Midnight Soldier was spoken in whispers. Then a plane crashed, and she was forgotten.

From her current seat, Hayley briefly wished she could instill terror in these people.

"Tell me who you are!" The Starling City Vigilante did not take well to her breaking into his lair.

Hayley reached out and pushed the arrow out of her face. "Didn't anyone ever tell you it's rude to put things in people's faces?" she asked. She stood and stepped closer. "And even if I wanted to tell you who I am -- which I don't -- why should I?"

Hayley caught the barest edges of a scowl from under the hood. "You should tell me because I'm the one with the bow."

Hayley shrugged. "Point taken." She held out a hand. "Hayley Parker." The Hood did not shake. Hayley withdrew her hand awkwardly. "I was told to meet a Mr. John Diggle and his friend upstairs."

"Yeah, operative word there being upstairs." Hayley leaned around the vigilante.

"Oh, hey, John," she waved a bit awkwardly. The Hood turned to stare at Diggle.

"You know this woman?" He sounded skeptical.

"She's the one I was telling you about, man." Diggle cleared his throat. "I assumed she'd stay upstairs."

"Waiting has never really been my thing," Hayley admitted. "Saw Johnny boy heading back here, and I just. Followed." She leaned down, trying to see under the hood. "You know who I am, care to return the favor?"

There was a deep sigh, and then he drew back the hood.

Hayley gaped. "Holy frack. You're Oliver Queen."

Blondie cleared her throat. "Um, hello? Secret identity?"

"It's fine, Felicity," Oliver said. "I know what I'm doing."

"Don't worry, Blondie," Hayley smirked. "I can keep a secret."

~~~~~~~~

A month later, Hayley had joined Oliver's crusade as the Silver Archer. She'd even made friends with Felicity. It reminded her of the war in a lot of ways. Hayley preferred not to think about how that didn't bother her.

"Hayley?"

She looked up. Diggle smiled at her. "Welcome back. You kind of zoned out."

"Sorry," she said, taking a drink of her beer. "Thinking."

"Anything interesting?" Felicity asked.

"Just the past," Hayley said softly. Oliver sat up straight.

"You never talk about your past," he remarked. Hayley raised one eyebrow.

"You never talk about the island," she shot back.

"Fair enough." None of them looked very satisfied.

Hayley sighed. "What do you want to know?"

"Where are you from?" Felicity asked immediately. "It's just, you have an accent but it's almost gone and I've been wondering."

"I was born in Australia," Hayley said, then cleared her throat. "In 1922."

Shocked silence rang through the Arrowcave. "What?" Felicity breathed.

"How is that possible?" Diggle asked.

Hayley shrugged. "Long story."

"We've got time," Oliver pointed out.

Hayley rolled her eyes toward the ceiling. "Jesus. OK." She took a long swig of her beer, then set it down. "My father worked for ASIS, and in those days only men were allowed to work for them, so all he ever wanted was a son. My parents doted on my older brother." She looked at her hands. "I'm not sure they ever even wanted another kid, but I came along and sort of existed as an afterthought." She shrugged off Oliver's vaguely concerned face. "And then when I was ten, they sent me over to America, to the Ravenwood Institute for Girls."

Oliver shook his head. "I've never heard of it."

Hayley smiled wryly. "You wouldn't have. They took young girls and made them into monsters." She rubbed her forehead. "They taught me how to be a proper lady and they taught me how to kill a man with a hatpin. We learned dancing and how to slip a blade in between ribs. We learned cooking and poisons, and then we were turned loose on each other." Felicity and Diggle's faces were horrified. "I took an interest in the sciences so I left after graduation."

"Wh-" Felicity cleared her throat. "Where did you go?"

"New York," a somewhat wistful look came over her face. "The 1941 Modern Marvels of Tomorrow Fair." She smiled. "It was amazing. Howard Stark was there and I got myself a position as his lab assistant."

"Really?" Oliver asked, just a bit skeptically. "In 1941?"

"I took notes, filed his papers and made sure he stayed fed and mostly well rested," Hayley acquiesced. "It was really a glorified secretary position, but it got me to the warfront, so." She shrugged. "The rest is pretty uninteresting."

"None of that explains how you're 91 years old," Diggle pointed out.

"I wondered over enemy lines," Hayley said quietly. "I was captured and experimented on, and eventually given the super soldier serum. Combined with a forced nap in the ice, I woke up 65 years later my glorious self, and here I am." She stood quickly to avoid more questions. "It's late. Thea will wonder where I am if I'm not home when she wakes."

The three friends sat there long after she'd left, processing.

"That was a lot of information," Felicity stated. She gave Oliver a baleful stare. "Why can't you ever be that forthcoming?"